Optoelectronic modules, such as optoelectronic transceiver or transponder modules, are increasingly used in electronic and optoelectronic communication. Some optoelectronic modules can be plugged into a variety of host devices. Multi-Source Agreements (“MSAs”), such as the SFF MSA, the SFP MSA, the SFP+ (IPF) MSA, and the XFP MSA, specify, among other things, package dimensions for electronic and optoelectronic modules. Conformity with an MSA allows an electronic or optoelectronic module to be plugged into host devices designed in compliance with the MSA.
Optoelectronic modules typically communicate with a printed circuit board of a host device by transmitting electrical signals to the printed circuit board and receiving electrical signals from the printed circuit board. These electrical signals can then be transmitted by the optoelectronic module outside the host device as optical signals.
One common difficulty associated with optoelectronic modules concerns the retention and removal of the optoelectronic modules within and from corresponding cages of host devices. Although various mechanisms have been developed in order to facilitate the retention and removal of optoelectronic modules within and from corresponding cages of host devices, these mechanisms can be problematic in certain applications. For example, an SFP+ optoelectronic module can include a bail-actuated latch mechanism that facilitates the removal of the SFP+ optoelectronic module from a cage of a host device without the use of a separate tool. The bail-actuated latch mechanism can also include certain visible indicators that serve to identify one or more characteristics, such as wavelength or data rate, of the SFP+ optoelectronic module.
Although enabling the removal of an SFP+ optoelectronic module from a cage of a host device without necessitating the use of a separate tool is generally desirable, certain applications, sometimes known as “single-insertion” applications, may require that the SFP+ optoelectronic module only be removable from a cage of a host device by use of a separate tool. Requiring a separate tool to remove an SFP+ optoelectronic module from a cage of a host device can increase the likelihood, for example, that the module is only removed from the cage by the original manufacturer or vendor of the host device and not by an end user of the host device.
One approach to designing an SFP+ optoelectronic module that is appropriate for a single-insertion application is to eliminate entirely, a bail-actuated latch mechanism from the module. This approach, however, also results in the undesirable elimination of the visible indicators of the bail-actuated latch mechanism that serve to identify characteristics of the SFP+ optoelectronic module. The elimination of these visible indicators can make the identification of characteristics of the SFP+ optoelectronic module, such as wavelength or data rate, difficult. This difficulty can arise in part because once an SFP+ optoelectronic module is inserted into a cage of a host device, certain descriptive labels on the SFP+ optoelectronic module may be hidden by the cage, and can not be viewed without the use of a separate tool.